A Draconian Reality
by rockergypsyrose
Summary: Three years after the War, Hermione finds Draco in a very complicated situation. "Malfoy...what have you done to yourself?" Rated M to be safe.
1. Prologue: Hysteria

Sleep was now non-existent.

Tossing and turning wasn't enough, so standing and wandering was the best option. Everything seemed slow and monotonous as if time had completely stopped,

yet there was no way around it.

The never-ending restlessness was annoying; no rest when there's a craving.

The cold sweats that accompanied the sleepless nights were tolerable.

The anger ignited by the exhaustion during the daytime; that was bearable.

Even the constant shakes that coursed through the body and made the hands tremble could be controlled.

The evil, however, could never be reigned in.

That evil was always hungry, begging and clawing from the inside to be fed.

It would take control and reach out to satisfy its need.

And in the aftermath of the slow burn of that momentary satisfaction, the host remained immobile; forever trapped in the clutches of the beast.

* * *

A/N: Hello everyone! This is my first attempt at a full length story. I'm planning, and hoping, for this to have at least ten chapters. However knowing me, it will probably end up having more. :)  
This is loosely a Draco/Hermione fic, just because I love that pairing. The titles of the chapters will be based on songs that I was inspired by when writing the chapter, so keep a look out for that! I'll try to get the first official chapter in sometime this week. But for now, tell me what you think. Click that little button down there that says "Review" please. :P

-Ivy


	2. Chapter 2: Such A Handsome Young Man

A/N: So here's the first official chapter. Hope you enjoy it. :]

Song inspiration: "Diary of Jane" by Breaking Benjamin

[By the way, the prologue, and the whole story in general, was inspired by the song "Hysteria" by Muse.]

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the HP characters. They all belong to J.K. Rowling. The situations I put her lovely characters in, however, are all mine.

* * *

The halls of the hospital were surprisingly calm. She paced through the rehabilitation ward, her hands in the pockets of her white lab coat. To have such a moment of peace in a normally chaotic atmosphere, was a blessing; A blessing that would be taken away with the rush of footsteps approaching her from around the corner.

The intern seemed frantic as she shuffled through the papers in her hands and almost bumped into Hermione. The girl looked up, startled as Hermione's hands came up to steady her. She sighed and her features relaxed somewhat. "There you are. Devon sent me to find you."

The intern, whose name was Allie, readjusted the stack of papers she was holding and looked up calmly.

Hermione put her hands back in her pockets but stood up straighter than before. "What happened? Is it an emergency? You look stressed."

Allie shook her head, "No, I'm fine. I just thought I was going to have to run all over the hospital to find you, and I have to file these papers…" she paused to take a relaxing breath. "Anyway, there's a new patient who came in last night. Devon wouldn't tell me much but it seems like his withdrawal symptoms are pretty bad. They had to tie him to the bed."

Hermione understood and began to walk briskly to where they kept the new arrivals. "Thank you Allie," she called over her shoulder as she turned down another corridor. Hermione knew Devon could handle it. After all, he had been working there longer than she had, but new arrivals were always difficult. She stopped at the end of a narrow hallway as two nurses were coming out of the room. They smiled at her as they passed and continued with their conversation.

"Such a handsome young man…" she heard Bonnie, the eldest of the two, saying to her companion, as the other nodded sadly. Hermione watched them walk away and only turned as she heard the click of the door shutting.

Devon walked towards her, clipboard in one hand at his side. A year ago when she had started working at the hospital, Hermione had easily developed a crush on the then 26 year old doctor. He was tall and lean with a very charming smile. His dark hair was cut short and he had dark, almost mischievous looking eyes. They got along well, but Hermione's crush faded quickly and they had comfortably settled into a close friendship. She looked up at him as he stopped before her.

"I heard we have a new arrival," she said clearly asking for more information.

Devon nodded as he looked down at the clipboard in his hands. "Yeah…male, looks to be about 20 years old," he said slowly as he skimmed through the information on the paper before looking back at her with a small frown, "Other than that, nothing. No name, no medical history…it's like the guy doesn't exist."

Hermione's eyebrows furrowed. How could someone not have a single trace of ever existing?

Devon raised his eyebrows as he remembered something. "He did have this on him though."

He reached into the pants pocket of his navy blue scrubs and pulled out a long piece of ornately carved wood. She reached for it as he handed it over for her to examine. Her eyes widened slightly and he took the expression for incredulity. "Strange, huh?"

She breathed in as she eyed the object. To anyone else, the object was just a piece of carved wood. But to Hermione it was so much more. From the knowledge she'd acquired from her readings, it was made of Hawthorn and looked to be about 10 inches in length. Far from being just a fancy stick, Hermione recognized it instantly; it was a wand. It was the mark of a wizard. She spoke distractedly before glancing back up at him. "What's he on?"

Devon leaned his back against the wall and crossed his arms, "Seems like the last thing he took was marijuana, but he's been taking cocaine for some time."

He looked down at her with a small conspiratorial smile, "But you know, for having taken cocaine for, oh I'd say maybe two years, he's pretty good looking. Nice blonde hair, fair skin, and those grey eyes…" He trailed off as another smile graced his features.

Hermione looked up at her friend with a smile of her own. The main reason they never got past being friends; he was gay. But to Hermione, whose crush had long ago dissipated, friendship was perfect. Outside of the Wizarding world, Hermione really only had her family, so having this new companion in the muggle world was comforting. As she looked up at Devon, Hermione let the description of the patient sink in. He sounded too familiar.

Pocketing the wand, she began to walk towards the room. "I'm going to take a look at how he's doing."

"He may be asleep. I had to resort to giving him Valium since he was struggling so much."

Her eyes widened and she turned to him quickly. "You gave him Valium? Devon, you know that's not safe in his condition…"

"Yes, I know. But the last time he was on anything was about three days ago. Don't worry, I made sure to give him a _very_ small dosage," he stressed as he pushed himself off the wall. "I'm going to get some coffee, do you want any?"

Hermione sighed and shook her head. "No thanks. I'll see you there in a few minutes though."

Devon nodded and walked down the hallway. Hermione turned her attention back to the room as she slowly opened the door. Whoever was in there belonged to her other world. She may even know them.

The details of Devon's description lingered in the back of her mind as she approached the curtain-encircled bed. Her hand pulled back the curtain and almost immediately came back up, fingers curled over her mouth.

The man looked peaceful in his drug-induced sleep. His almost shoulder length blonde hair lay messily against the pillow whose brightness almost matched his pale skin. He was very thin, accentuating his nearly pointy facial features. His left arm held small bruises where the blue veins were visible; signs of needle use. There were dark circles around the sunken eyes from lack of sleep. The thin lips were dry and set in a small frown, so much more different than the customary smirk she remembered him by.

As much hatred as there had been between them, Hermione couldn't help but feel sorry for him. "Malfoy…what have you done to yourself?" she whispered shakily.


	3. Chapter 3: I Will Not Disappoint You

A/N: Wow. I feel kind of bad for having you all wait longer than I had promised. I had planned for this to be up by Tuesday, though things got in my way (mainly the annoyance in my mouth from the wisdom teeth extraction). But here it is! Hope you enjoy.

Thanks also to all of you who've left reviews and added me to their author alerts/favorite lists! I love hearing from you guys. It means a lot to me and it gives me some indication that I'm actually not doing such a horrid job. .

Song inspiration: "Muscle Museum" by Muse

Disclaimer: Again, all HP characters and places belong to J.K. Rowling. At least I have Devon. :]

* * *

August, 1996

Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire

A scream of pain could be heard coming from the entrance hall of Malfoy Manor. The ever present darkness that seemed to consume the walls of the majestic manor created shadows as the people inside moved about.

Past the entrance hall, through a set of guarded double doors, stood a group of no more than seven people each wearing identical hooded black robes that concealed their faces. Everyone knew who was present as only those of higher ranks could be there. The only two whose faces were not veiled was the man at the head of the circle, and the younger man kneeling before him.

The room's occupants shifted in their spots as the echoes of the cry reverberated around them. The room was dark except for the light emitting from the fireplace behind the uncovered man. His red eyes looked down at the young man, a hint of malice in them. Voldemort, as the man had ordered he be called, oh so many years before, held onto the younger man's wrist, exposing the soft skin of the forearm. He held his wand barely a centimeter away from the skin as a black form began to appear; line by line the details of the Dark Mark were engraving themselves into the pale flesh.

Behind Voldemort, to his right, stood Wormtail cringing at the sight before him. Directly to the left of Voldemort was Bellatrix, whose face held a smile as she tried to suppress a hysterical cackle of laughter. Beside her stood Dolohov, dark eyes narrowed and both hands clasped behind his back.

Snape followed, his mouth set in a grim line and his eyes were empty. Completing the circle, as she stood in her husband's rightful place to the right of the Dark Lord, was Narcissa, watching her only child struggle with the pain being inflicted upon him.

She cringed beneath the hood of her robe as he had first felt the pain. He had been standing in the beginning; tall and proud to be following in his father's footsteps. She didn't blame him for having fallen on one knee and screaming. She remembered the excruciating pain that the process caused. Every detail of the skull and snake where etched into the skin with a white-hot burn that had caused greater wizards to fall to their knees.

Her heart wrenched as she watched the set determination on his face. His head was bowed and his free hand was on his right knee; the already pale knuckles were colorless from the pressure he was putting on them. Truth be told, she had never wanted her son to suffer so much and be forever tied to a world of darkness. But Lucius had wanted this. Draco, having always looked up to his father, had readily accepted the offer, especially after his father's imprisonment. Being next in the Malfoy line, he felt it was his duty to continue where his father had left off.

But overall, it was the will of the Dark Lord.

For five minutes Narcissa watched her son try to ignore the pain. He had remained quiet after the initial scream and she knew that it was due to his pride. After the process was complete, the Dark Lord removed his wand and gave a smirk.

"Stand," he spoke in a tone that sounded almost weary.

Head still bowed, Draco winced as he steadily got up. He took in a deep breath as he looked towards the man he now served, a blank expression on his face.

Voldemort gave a wave of his hand and Wormtail began to scurry around trying to be quick about completing his task. The room remained silent except for the wheezes coming from Wormtail and the angry hiss that erupted from Nagini as she was almost trampled. The enormous snake moved swiftly around the circle and stopped at the feet of her master just as Wormtail stopped nervously beside Draco with a black hooded robe in one hand, and a mask in the other.

Shakily, Wormtail helped Draco place the robe over his shoulders and handed the mask over before backing out of the circle quickly. Draco looked slightly down at the mask he was holding before focusing his gaze on Nagini. The monstrous thing began to make its way up Voldemort's robe before settling its body around his shoulders and fixing Draco with a hungry stare; its forked tongue lashing out.

Voldemort turned to it and raised a hand to pet the smooth skin. "Well done Draco. You are now at my service," he said while caressing the snake's head before looking back at him.

"Let us hope that you aren't as much of a disappointment as your father turned out to be."

Narcissa stiffened at the comment and she could see that it had bothered Draco as well, though neither could do anything. After a moments' pause where all that could be heard was the crackling of the fire, Draco's voice rang out clearly.

"I will not disappoint you, my Lord."

* * *

Hermione entered the hospital's cafeteria, not really looking at her surroundings. She found Devon sitting at a small table by a window, sipping his coffee.

She quickly sat across from him, looking down dazedly at the sugar packets on the table. "I know him," she breathed out.

Devon quirked an eyebrow as he drank. "Do you know him well?" he asked lightly.

"You could say that."

He studied her with slight concern and tried to peer into her eyes. "You okay? You're shaking."

Keeping her eyes averted, Hermione took a breath. "I'm fine, it's just…I know him from school. We…we weren't on the best of terms with each other."

"Oh yes, your mysterious private school. What did he do to get on your bad side?"

"He would always torment Harry, Ron and I…"

"…who I have yet to meet," he cut in.

Her lips gave a small twitch of a smile. "He had a special liking to call me names and he could be really cruel."

She paused and finally looked up at him. "He did some horrible things but I would have never imagined him drugging himself." They looked at each other for a few seconds before she continued.

"He's always been privileged; rich, loved and spoiled by his parents, from what I could tell, and as much as I hate to admit it he was smart. It just doesn't add up. What could drive him to such extremes?"

Devon looked at her as if weighing the options himself. "Well, if he's going to get any better, we're going to have to figure that out."

* * *

November, 1996

Hogwarts, Scotland

He loosened his tie with a shaky hand as he descended the stairs leading to the dungeons. He was safer in the darkness of the lower levels of the castle as it was easier to hide from Filch and his nosy cat. He came upon the entrance to the Slytherin common room and quickly spoke the password, eager to get to bed.

He almost laughed at the thought; he hadn't been able to sleep right since the start of term.

He passed through the arched entrance and began to walk through the common room, when a voice stopped him.

"Late night, Draco?"

Already feeling a bit nervous, Draco turned quickly towards the voice. Blaise Zabini sat reclined in an armchair by the fireplace, legs thrown over the armrest.

"Blaise, don't do that."

The dark-haired boy laughed at the anger on Draco's face. "My, aren't we jumpy?"

"What are you even doing down here? It's nearly two."

Blaise brought his legs down and sat up straighter against the back of the chair, his hands on the armrests. "Crabbe and Goyle. Their snoring is unimaginable. Crabbe actually scared himself awake earlier," he said with a shake of his head. "I'd ask you the same thing, though I'm fairly certain as to what it is that's got you so bothered."

Draco fidgeted a little, something that was not common for him. He opened his mouth to retort, but Blaise raised a hand lazily to stop him. "Don't even bother. I don't care much for either side of this war and I don't really feel like getting involved."

Draco looked at the fireplace as his friend spoke. He didn't know why he had been worried; Blaise was typically uninterested.

He heard Blaise chuckle, "I don't mean to sound so rude, but you look like shit." Draco sent him a half-hearted glare before running a hand through his hair.

"I don't have much energy. I just need sleep, that's all."

Blaise nodded with a smile still on his face as he stood up. "That might just be it," he conceded, "But when that doesn't help, come and see me. I might just have something to help."

On that cryptic note, Blaise walked towards the boys' dorms, leaving Draco to himself in the silence of the common room.


	4. Chapter 4: Hello, Mr Malfoy

A/N: First of all, once again I have to apologize for taking so long to post this up. At least I got this up on the day of the promised deadline. :D

Second, thank you to all of you people who've added this story to your favorite lists. It gives me a warm and bubbly feeling.

Now if only you could all review…. ^_^

Song Inspiration: "Bed of Roses" by Oblivion Dust

Disclaimer: All HP characters and places belong to J.K. Rowling. But this plot is all mine. :]

* * *

As the day passed, Hermione continued to check in on Draco "discretely". She would take the long way to her office that just happened to pass by his room, and even took the elevator three floors up just so that she could use the restroom down the hall from him.

Not once however did she actually go back into the room. She was curious, yes, but she still would not go back.

'_Why not,'_ she wondered. _'He __**is**__ your patient, after all. Checking in on him would only be natural.'_

Hermione stopped pacing up and down her small office as she considered that. She should go see him. After all, what kind of doctor would she be if she neglected her patients? She nodded to herself as she picked up some papers on her desk and quickly skimmed through them.

A knock sounded as she stacked the papers into a neat pile at the corner of her desk.

"Come in."

"Hello, hello," came Devon's voice as he stepped into the room. "Busy?"

Hermione turned and sat on the edge of her desk. "Not really. I'm planning on going home soon."

"You aren't going to check in on your friend?" he asked cheekily. "Come on. I know you've wanted to do so all day."

Hermione's eyes widened but she tilted her chin up in defiance, looking very much like a pouting child. "I have not." Devon grinned teasingly.

"Oh really? Because I just had a nurse tell me that she saw you walk past the room four times in five minutes and that you kept peeking in through the little window in the door."

Knowing she had been caught, Hermione gave Devon a small glare that only made him laugh.

"Really?! I didn't know if I should believe her but…wow!" He continued to laugh as Hermione watched him, annoyed and with a light tinge of pink on her cheeks. Once he sobered up, he smiled at her and extended his hand. "Come on. I'll go with you."

She sighed and took his hand to get off the desk. They walked slowly through the halls until they reached the room. She stopped him as he was about to open the door. "I feel strange doing this. I know he's also my patient but…"

Devon cut her off with a gentle yet firm voice. "Yes. He is your patient. Hermione, you cannot let personal differences get in the way of you treating him like you would any other patient. You have to remain professional." His tone held finality and Hermione was reminded that Devon already had a few years' more experience than her. She didn't say anything but reached to open the door by herself.

They walked in and began to do a routine check up. Once everything was cleared, Hermione stood at the foot of the bed and looked at Draco still deeply asleep.

"Strange tattoo…pretty interesting though," she heard Devon say.

She hadn't noticed it earlier that day when she'd checked in on him since she had been distracted by the needle marks. But there it was in all its glory, not much below the bruising. Against the white skin, the Dark Mark seemed to sneer at her.

"That's not a tattoo," she murmured so only she could hear before they walked out of the room.

"I'll see you in the morning. Thank you."

"No problem," he said as he ruffled up her hair, something that earned him another glare. They said their good-byes and Hermione walked back to her office feeling much better and ready to go home.

* * *

It was 3:47 a.m. when Draco finally woke up. He still felt drowsy but was alert enough to know that he wasn't home.

The bed was small and could barely be classified as comfortable, not at all like his bed at Malfoy Manor. The room was dark though there was light coming from a window in the door. A strange beeping noise was coming from his left and he turned his head to find where it was coming from. There were a few contraptions with numbers and blinking lights that had tubes connected to him. He was in the hospital but this was definitely not Saint Mungo's.

He groaned as anger and confusion spread through him. He tried sitting up more to get a better view of his surroundings.

The walls were a royal blue color and the room was sparsely decorated; a side table to his right, and a lonely brown armchair in the corner by the window to his left.

How had he gotten there? How long had he been asleep? For all he could remember, he'd been at Blaise's house since Tuesday, though he didn't know how long ago that had been since he had no way of knowing how much time he'd been asleep.

He let his head rest more comfortably against the small pillow as he brought a hand up to scratch his arm. He felt more rested than he had in the past two years. What had they given him? Better yet, _who_ had given him whatever it was? He needed answers, damn it! For all he knew, some crazy muggles were doing experiments on him and it was all Blaise's fault. He was almost certain that Blaise had something to do with all of this.

A shadow crossed the room as someone moved outside. Draco closed his eyes quickly, not wanting whoever it was to know that he was awake. The person walked into the room and stood near the foot of his bed. He took a peek and saw a girl in fuchsia colored scrubs writing something down on a clipboard. After a minute or two, the nurse left the room, closing the door securely behind her.

Eyes once again open, Draco decided he had enough. He needed to get out of wherever this place was and get back home. More importantly, he needed to hunt down Blaise and kill him.

He reached for the pocket in his pajama pants to retrieve his wand, when he realized two things:

1.) He wasn't wearing his pajamas at all, but hospital clothing made of cotton. That meant that…

2.) He didn't have his wand with him.

Where the bloody hell had that blasted thing gotten to!? He frantically looked under the bed sheets and over the sides of the bed only to find nothing. If the muggles had it then they might throw it away or even break it thinking that it's just a stick.

His breathing quickened at the thought and he absent-mindedly scratched at a spot on his neck. With nothing else to do, Draco laid back down, fearfully resigned and a fire in his eyes.

Oh yes, Blaise was going to pay.

* * *

As the hours passed, the rising sun brought some much appreciated warmth to what promised to be a beautiful Saturday in February.

The whole hospital seemed a little brighter and happier with the rays of sunshine that streamed through the open blinds.

So it was with a light spring in her step that Hermione walked into her office. A small smile played on her lips as she took off her dark blue coat and hung it on a hook by the door.

Her morning had been going well; she had woken up feeling refreshed and ready for the day ahead. On her way to the hospital she decided to stop at a small coffee shop and she ended up getting her hot chocolate on the house. And to top everything off, there had been no traffic on the rest of the way.

She took a seat behind her desk, humming a non-distinct tune, and began to read through some papers that needed to be signed.

"Miss Granger?" she heard with a light knock on her open door.

She looked up with a smile and saw one of the male nurses standing in the door way.

"Jonathan, call me Hermione. Please."

"Hermione," he corrected as he walked towards her desk. "I came to see if you were done signing the documents I left for you earlier."

"I'm taking care of it right now." She looked back down to finish signing the papers. "By the way, do you know if Devon's in?"

"Yes, I believe he is."

"Thank you," she replied as she handed him the documents. Jonathan smiled back before walking out. After straightening up her desk a little, Hermione walked out of her office and headed towards Devon's, hoping to spread her good mood.

Just as she turned the corner and saw his door, Devon walked out looking rushed. He spotted her as she rounded the corner and walked quickly towards her. "Oh good, you're here," he said as he took her by the arm and led her back around the corner.

"Good morning to you too Devon. Where are we going?"

"It seems your friend finally woke up. He nearly scared a nurse half to death."

Suddenly Hermione's mood dampened. "So we're stepping in to control him?"

"Precisely."

"Joy," she replied, eyes slightly wide but overall ready for what she had to do.

When they got to Draco's room, Jonathan and two interns were already there trying to get the frantic looking young man to get back in the bed. The interns looked scared out of their wits and weren't doing much except plead to the patient to relax.

Devon walked ahead of her and began to take control of the situation. With a nod in Jonathan's direction, Jonathan took hold of Draco by the arms and restrained him as best as he could.

"You two can go. We have this covered."

The nervous interns nodded and exited the room quickly. Hermione stood quietly by the door, still unnoticed by the crazed patient. She had never seen Malfoy like that before. He had an insane look on his face mixed with desperation. He was struggling against the hold that Jonathan had on him and he kept jerking involuntarily every so often. She could hear Devon trying to calm him down but it was having no effect.

"You have to try to relax."

"Let me go!" he yelled as he gave a violent jerk to try to free himself. He gave another yell of frustration and began a panting plea.

"Make it stop! Get them off of me! ...Just…make it stop!"

Hermione knew that she should be used to seeing that kind of behavior but seeing Malfoy like that was too much. She had to do something. Checking her pocket for her wand, Hermione stepped forward.

"Devon, I can handle this. You two can go." Her voice was firm and her eyes pleaded Devon to trust her. With one look down at her, Devon sighed and nodded towards Jonathan.

The two walked out of the room, shutting the door behind them. She watched them walk away through the window and took out her wand. After muttering a locking and silencing spell, Hermione turned back to a bewildered looking Malfoy.

"Granger?"

"Hello, Mr. Malfoy."


End file.
